First, contact me to introduce yourself and your
project. Then send me a link to your current trailer posted online. I
will formulate ideas to improve it and arrange a time to discuss them
with you on the phone. If you don’t have an assembled cut, send me your
project proposal, your pitch, selected video clips, etc. I will look
them over and reply with my thoughts about teaser concepts perhaps
suggesting what B-roll should be shot first. (Please don’t send any
material before talking with me.)

IN-DEPTH CONSULTATIONS

After a free consultation, you may want to explore more options:

Conceptual trailer
construction - $120
I take a deeper look at your material and develop
well-thought-out ideas and concepts that can make it work
better. We have a collaboration session (on the phone or in my
edit room) that combines my trailer experience with your
knowledge of the material. We bounce ideas back and forth as we
shape and reshape your cut from top to bottom.

Trailer re-construction with a
template edit - $500
I physically rebuild your trailer to demonstrate how these ideas
can work. I will deconstruct it and rearrange some of the
elements to enhance its pacing and flow. This often includes
re-wording title cards or VO and substituting new music cues.
The result is a new, stronger trailer structure that you only
need to polish and present.
The process usually involves me creating one or more versions
and discussing them with you on the phone. I work directly from
your drives if your project’s in Avid. If FCP, send me a
Quicktime file of the picture and separated audio tracks. I
create a trailer assembly that you can use as a template to
conform your FCP sequence.

FULL
SERVICE TRAILER PRODUCTION & EDITING

The trailer consultations above are limited to
taking an existing trailer and finding ways to make it better.
It’s a much larger challenge to create a fundraising or theatrical-style
trailer from scratch using your original media. I must review the whole
range of your material and formulate ideas to find the emotional and
conceptual “keys” that can unlock the material and fashion it into a
successful trailer — a process that requires a significant amount of
time and creative experimentation. After we sign a deal memo, I spend a
day or two importing and looking at your material and trying out ideas.
After several days of editing, I will show you up to four versions as we
collaborate on our way to a polished final cut. All together, this may
take two weeks (longer if you test screen the versions).

Costs vary. A deal memo will spell out what work will be done, a
timetable for completion and a payment schedule. $3200 is a realistic
estimate for a full-service trailer production; it can be less if your
material is well prepared. I retain your project & media so editing
additional versions of the trailer are convenient and economical.